Life as Kaitou Jeanne
by TiedUp
Summary: Yes, life as Kaitou Jeanne. Starting from the beginning through to the end, just with a slightly different storyline. Fin is GOOD! Maron x Chiaki and possibly some Fin x Access.
1. A newcomer in the life of Maron

Hi guys! This is my first fanfic so bear with me. The main thing to note: Fin is not evil! Fin is good! Sorry I still can't deal with the fact that innocent little Fin was bad. *Shudder*. Also to save possible confusion at the beginning, Chiaki does not know who Jeanne's real identity is. He's trying to figure it out.

The story still follows the main Kaitou Jeanne storyline (sealing demons and all that) though, even if only loosely. There will be some Chiaki x Maron, and possibly some Fin x Access. Rated T for now, although that may change. Anyway, enough with this talking. Here's chapter one! Hopefully one of many. Oh, and do feel free to leave some feedback guys, I'd like to know what you think of my work so far :)

Disclaimer: I do not own Kamikaze Kaitou Jeanne. Trust me if I did, I wouldn't be writing a fanfiction right now.

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**Chapter 1**

**Normal POV**

"Checkmate!" Kaitou Jeanne whispered, a smile on her lips, as her white pin struck the centre of the painting. The devil groaned loudly before the painting disappeared completely, leaving an empty painting frame.

Looking back at the heap of guards and police officers dangling from the ceiling, stuck in their own net trap specially made for Jeanne, she blew a kiss and disappeared into the night.

Next day…

**Maron's POV**

"Maron! Maron! You'll be late! Get up!" Miyako shouted, banging her fists against my front door. I ignored her and rolled over, still in bed. I was tired from staying up most of the night to complete homework after last night's steal. _Nevermind, a few minutes more in bed won't hurt.._

Luckily, Fin had woken me up again. I raced to school as fast as I could, having to take the shortcut through someone's back garden. Flinging open the door to the classroom, I tried to get my breath back as I leaned heavily against the door. The sudden blast of a whistle nearly deafened me. _Shit, just too late._ I looked up as I made my way to my seat, only to find an unfamiliar boy sitting in the spare seat next to mine. He was smirking at me, as if he were amused by my telling off. Irritated already by the look on his face, I dumped my bag heavily on the table and sat down, ignoring him completely.

Five minutes had barely passed when I saw out of the corner of my eye, a paper plane aimed at my head, sail quickly in my direction. Instinctively I caught it between my fingers without even looking up, but I knew exactly who it had come from. There was nothing I could do except open it; I could feel his piercing gaze as I turned the plane over and over in my hands. _Oh well, I'll have to read it at some point anyway.._

Deliberately slowly, I prised the paper plane's folds open millimetre by millimetre and couldn't help but smile as I saw the boy sigh and glance over in annoyance at my agonizingly slow letter opening speed, every few seconds. _Boy, was it fun teasing this guy.._

Eventually, I read the note.

"Call me Chiaki. I'm new here, so will be relying on you to show me around. Oh and by the way, I live next door to you. Miyako told me."

My face dropped at the last parts of the note, earning another smirk from Chiaki. I folded up the note carefully, and dropped it on the desk. I couldn't believe it. Not only did I have to sit next to this jerk during lessons, I'd have to put up with him being my next door neighbour! I sighed and tried to concentrate on the lesson again.

Precisely five minutes later, the sound of a rubber landing neatly in the fold of my book, startled me out of my daydream. I looked at it quizzically until I noticed some writing squeezed onto the side of the rubber.

"It's rude to ignore." It read.

I had the sudden urge to throw the rubber at the sender's head, hard, but the teacher was bound to see. Instead, I scribbled something on the back of my hand in pen and turned it towards him, so he could read it. "You're distracting me."

Another infuriating smile played at his lips.

Five minutes later, my phone buzzed from receiving a text. _How strange, who would text me during lessons?_ I flipped the phone open and read the phone number it was sent from. It was someone new. I tried not to look at the boy to my left, as I pressed 'open' on the text.

"Wait for me after school. And you can thank Miyako for giving me your number."

Confirmed, it was him. I managed to stop myself from groaning out loud, and decided to ignore him instead.

After school…

I decided the best thing to do would be to leg it out of the room. I had gymnastics practice that afternoon anyway, and then I had to get shopping done. I just wasn't in the mood to stick around and wait for Chiaki. I'd known him for less than a day and he was already getting on my nerves.

The bell had barely rung once and I was halfway through bolting out of the door, before a strong arm grabbed my hand. "I thought I made it clear I wanted you to wait." Chiaki said quietly, as everyone else had only just started to pack up.

I was out of his grasp easily and continued striding down the corridor. "Go on without me, I'm busy," I called back. It wasn't like I was lying, anyway.

**Chiaki's POV**

She sure was stubborn, this girl. After ignoring me the whole day, she thinks she can slip away that easily? I caught up with her quickly, falling into stride with her. She glared at me, obviously annoyed. "I said I was busy."

I grinned at her. "Gymnastics, was it? That's fine, I'll wait till practice is over."

"It's for two hours."

Two hours?! I didn't think she took git that seriously. From what Miyako had told me earlier, she was clumsy, bad at gymnastics, and always got into trouble. I decided to watch her for a bit anyway; besides, it was fun to annoy her.

She took me by surprise, for she was actually very good at gymnastics. I watched her, not even aware that my mouth was hanging open slightly. She twirled the ribbon in the air, moving as freely as a feather. Her swift movements were perfectly in time with the soft music, and her hair which had been bunched up all day, flowed out behind her. Her slim fingers twirled the ribbon again and again effortlessly, as she finished the routine perfectly and smiled.

She acted so coldly towards me, so I was surprised to see this side of her. She looked happy; genuinely happy. Then she caught sight of me and her smile turned into a slight frown. "What are you doing here?" She sighed, as she got a drink.

_So she still doesn't like me, huh… _I grinned at her again and waved. "Like I said, I'm waiting for you."

"I'm going to the shops afterwards."

"To buy what? Clothes?" I began to smirk slightly, an idea popping into my head. "Could it be that you're buying…" I slipped up behind her and whispered in her ear. "…underwear?" My smirk broadened. "…And you're after my help?"

Oops, maybe I went too far. I rubbed my face tentatively, outlining the hand mark that she had left. I couldn't help it; she was just so much fun to tease!

I sighed as she stalked out of the room, her bag swung loosely over her shoulder.

That evening, Chiaki's house…

I kicked off my shoes as I entered the dark apartment. I'd only just moved in so it wasn't furnished at all. In fact, it was still rather dusty and I'd only managed to get a mattress in the room.

"You took your time! What were you doing?" The voice came from the corner of the room. "I was beginning to get hungry!"

I smiled slightly. Access always cheered me up. Ever since he'd arrived, the days didn't seem pointlessly long anymore.

"Just been out." I said casually. Access raised his eyebrows.

"Hmm, really? Say, what are we having tonight?" He pestered.

As much as I liked his company, Access really could be a pain sometimes. "Who knows, I'll find something."

Access sighed. He flew over, suddenly excited. "You didn't happen to find out more about her, did you?"

"Who?"

"Jeanne of course!"

I scratched my head, sitting down on the mattress. "No. Now be quiet, I'm tired."

Access pouted and flew closer again. "We have to find her quickly, otherwise we can't do anything."

"I'll find her in my own time." I said blankly, lying back and closing my eyes.

"Jeez, you'll never be good at your job if you're tired out after a day of school." Access sighed again. "Looks like I'll have to find her myself, you're proving to be useless."

I swatted the angel away clumsily. "Do what you want," I said, yawning.

"Jeanne's already got a head start you know. She'll have checkmated everything before you've got started."

This Access sure was persistent. "Who cares who she is. So long as I'm there at the time, it'll be fine." I said, batting him away again.

Finally, Access gave in. Besides, I knew he was tired himself. He'd been out and about the whole day. He crashed down onto the mattress too, sighing, before drifting off into a deep slumber.

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More chapters to come, of course! I hope to update fairly regularly. Please do leave your thoughts on this, I'd like to improve my writing with your help :)


	2. After the Green Charm!

Okay! Here's chapter 2. I know the chapters are on the short side at the moment, but I'll try to make them longer. And before someone mentions it, I stupidly spelt Finn wrong in chapter one – I'll make sure it has 2 'n's from now on. Oh and yes, Sinbad makes his first brief appearance here! Happy reading :)

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**Chapter 2** – After the Green Charm! Wait... Who are you?

**Normal POV**

"Tell me again Miyako, why are we letting Chiaki tag along to school?" Maron grumbled. Miyako shot her an exasperated look, slowing down slightly to let Chiaki catch up. He was walking a few metres behind the girls, clearly bored.

"Because he's our next door neighbour, you idiot. Honestly, I don't understand why you have such a big problem with him!"

Maron glanced back at Chiaki who was scuffing his shoes against the curb as he walked, and sighed. "And I don't understand why you like him so much. From what I've seen of him, he's an inconsiderate little-"

"Maron!" Miyako clamped a hand around her mouth.

Maron wrenched herself out of Miyako's grasp, and looked up. To her surprise, Chiaki was only centimetres away from her face, with that stupid smirk plastered across his face. "Ehh, what was that? I'm an inconsiderate little what?"

Maron's face flushed red but she turned around hastily before anyone could see. She felt guilty that he'd heard, but then again… he did deserve it.

"S-Shut up you idiot. Anyway, it's not like you're helping yourself, always doing perverted things like that…" She stuttered, before marching off down the road.

**Maron's POV**

_Stupid Chiaki. Always trying to embarrass me!_ I stomped towards school, leaving Miyako and Chiaki behind.

Pulling the classroom door open, I stepped inside – only to find the whole class whispering in a circle, obviously gossiping about something. _Typical…_

I moved closer, straining my ears to listen.

"…Yes, I know! And I heard Jeanne's likely to steal it, too!"

"Jeanne? Now that you mention it, she's always after treasures. It'll be exciting if she turns up!"

My eyes widened at the sound of my alter ego. _What could they possibly be talking about?_

Just at that moment, Miyako and Chiaki appeared at the door. Miyako eyed the crowd suspiciously, before making her way over. I stifled a laugh as her eyes popped at the sound of Jeanne's name, before she quickly took charge of the discussion.. _She sure doesn't give up…_

I was so absorbed in watching the crowd, that I didn't notice Chiaki beside me.

"What's with the fuss?"

I whirled round, nearly losing my balance. He smirked. "I don't remember you being such a klutz."

I fought the urge to deliberately stamp hard on his toe, and managed to ignore his comment. "You'll have to get used to constant Jeanne discussion at this school if you want to fit in."

I noticed Chiaki's eyes widen slightly. Narrowing my eyes slightly at him, I continued. "Why, got anything against her?"

He looked at me for a moment, before shaking his head. "No…It's nothing." He said quickly, before flashing me another grin. I raised my eyebrows and went to my seat. _Seriously, what's with this guy.._

**Chiaki's POV**

I couldn't concentrate all through the lessons. It was the first time my mind had been set so firmly on Jeanne. Maybe it was because of the heated discussion earlier? I wasn't sure. I stared out of the window, trying to collect my thoughts when Miyako blocked my view suddenly.

"You're spacing out, Chiaki. What's up?" She said, leaning on my desk. _If only she knew. _I raised my head and shot her a smile. _Oh well, she was the police inspector's daughter. She had to know something._

"Yeah, about that Jeanne… Everyone seems to be talking about her. I've never heard of her before, being new around here. Care to fill me in?" I guessed that to get anywhere with my search, I'd have to play dumb.

I could almost see a fire blazing in Miyako's eyes, the second the word 'Jeanne' escaped my mouth.

"Ahh, yes. Phantom thief of the night, the infamous Kaitou Jeanne. She's my eternal rival – I won't stop until I catch her!"

I smiled slightly at her determination. "What's everyone saying she'll be likely to steal?"

Miyako's face suddenly darkened. "There are rumours going around that she'll steal the Green Charm. It's a precious jade that's been showing in the local museum since Tuesday. It's priceless."

"And do you think she'll take it?" I pressed. If I was going to meet this Jeanne, I'd have to know where to find her.

"I don't know. We made a deal; to give the police a fair chance in capturing her, she'd send a warning card with the time she'd appear, the location, and what she'd steal, to the owner of the item. Nobody seems to have received one yet, so I don't know."

I nodded. "A notice card, huh. How many times have you seen Jeanne? Or should I say, failed to catch her?" I smirked slightly, waiting for her reaction.

Miyako's blood looked close to boiling and she clenched her fists tightly. She did manage to keep her composure fairly well though, I had to admit.

"That stupid thief… Eleven times she's come and gone now. Eleven thefts total."

She lifted her head to face me, eyes gleaming again. "But this time will be the last! If she dares lay a finger on the Green Charm, she'll have me to deal with!"

With that, she turned on her heels and stalked off. "Keep me updated about the notice card!" I managed to shout back to her.

_Eleven times… She sure sounded interesting, this Jeanne._

**Finn's POV**

_Any minute now, any minute now…_ I was flying around the door, waiting for Maron's return. Eventually, the doorknob turned and she arrived.

"Finn!" She greeted happily.

I shook my head, bursting to tell her. "Maron! The jade – the Green Charm – a demon's hiding in it!"

Maron stopped dead in her tracks, turning around slowly. She clenched her fists and looked away. "And the notice card, Finn?"

I flew to the other side of the room, wringing my hands nervously. "Sorry I uh… Yeah. Be there 11pm sharp…"

"Finn! I've told you time and time again, to not send them in without my permission!" She sat back on the sofa heavily and dragged her hand up to her forehead, groaning. "Everyone was all fired up about the possibility of Jeanne stealing it today, and now it's actually going to happen." She said, closing her eyes.

I bit my lip nervously. "You will do it right, Maron? Before the demon causes too much trouble?"

Maron's head snapped up. "Well now that the warning card's in, I have to. Besides, being one of the only ones capable of sealing demons, it's my duty to do it."

Suddenly, Maron looked distant. "Hey, Finn…You said when you first met me, that there were potentially others with similar powers to me. Re-incarnations of other heroes or something."

I sighed. "Yeah. There may or may not be others capable of sealing demons too. All that God told me was that when the demons got too hard to fight by yourself, he'd send some helpers down. I have no idea how many though."

Maron got up and walked over to the window, gazing out over the city. I flew over to her, worried. She nodded slightly. "Mmm. I guess you could say the demons are becoming stronger. These last three checkmates have been tough…" Her voice trailed off and she closed her eyes again. "I always thought I was capable of doing this alone. Why does God think I'm not? Am I not strong enough alone? I've never failed before, never…" She sank to the floor slowly, leaning back against the window.

"Jeanne…" I said softly, my wings drooping slightly. "God doesn't want the same thing to happen to you as the original Jeanne d'Arc. She worked alone till the very end. Wouldn't it be sad if you had to as well?"

Maron opened her eyes, looking at me. "Well, there's nothing much I can do about it. I'll continue my job whether or not there are others trying to help me." She sighed again, but then flashed me a grin, and her eyes fired up again. "Just, I'll be sure to checkmate myself."

**Maron's POV**

_10:57. It's nearly time._ I looked through the binoculars from the tree I was hiding in, at the museum that contained my target.

"Finn." I whispered quietly. "Are you ready?"

She nodded and closed her eyes, concentrating, as I held out my rosary for her.

_Jeanne d'Arc…Lend me your strength! _

A second later, a beam of pink light enveloped me and I felt myself change. My hair lengthened and turned yellow in colour, my clothes changed into a short red and white dress, and in the place of my school shoes, appeared white boots with red ribbon laced around them.

_10.59. Time to go._ "Good luck, Jeanne. Be careful!" Finn called nervously, as I leapt silently into the next tree.

From here, I could see guards positioned below me. The entrance to the museum was also heavily guarded, and the roof of the building too. I smiled at the fact that they knew me well enough to guard from the top too.

My mind flashed back to what Finn had told me earlier. _If there really are other Kaitous around, why aren't they showing themselves?_ I jumped down from the tree, without making a noise. My mind wandered again, thinking about the possibility of working with someone with the same skills as I did. _I wonder what it would be like…_

I was so absorbed in my thoughts, that I didn't notice a figure sneak up behind me, clamp a strong hand over my mouth, and snap silver handcuffs around my wrists. "Kaitou Jeanne! Give it up - you are under arrest." _Shit. I got distracted._

**Chiaki/Sinbad's POV**

Miyako had told me about the notice card earlier, so I decided to spy on Jeanne, in Sinbad's form. For what reason? Well apart from Access dragging me there, I had to admit I _was _curious to see Jeanne for myself. The thief I was supposed to be working with in the near future.

A sudden scuffle on the ground caused me to look down. I gasped from where I was hiding, which happened to be in the tree directly opposite to where Jeanne had just jumped down from. _No way… She can't have just got captured! _Access was hovering in mid air beside me, watching the situation intently.

I could almost feel different escape strategies running through Jeanne's mind as I watched too. I could help if I wanted to, but I wanted to see how she handled this herself.

After a few seconds of trying to wriggle out of his grasp, Jeanne suddenly swung her hand cuffed wrists round, striking the policeman on the forehead. The sudden smash of metal against his head knocked him out clean, and he slumped to the ground. Jeanne cursed under her breath as she tried to fiddle with the handcuffs. After a bit of struggling, they unclipped; but to my surprise, they weren't broken as I expected.

I was watching her so closely that I didn't realise that she had just hurled the hand cuffs away. And they just so happened to be flying in my direction. Straight at my face. It was useless trying to dodge out of the way, as I was sitting with my legs crossed, on the branch. My hands were leaning on the tree trunk and branch for support. Without thinking, I lifted one of my hands supporting me to catch the handcuffs, but the movement made me sway slightly. Realising this just as I caught the metal was too much. I fell over backwards out of the tree, but miraculously managed to land in a crouched position on the ground.

Jeanne whirled around at the sudden noise. Her eyes narrowed as she took in my appearance; light blue hair and eyes, a piece of cloth over the lower part of my face, and a white jacket over dark clothes.

I was obviously not a police officer by the way I was dressed, and she could see that. And that was exactly the time when Access decided to fly down and check if I was alright. I saw Jeanne's eyes widen with shock, as they settled on the little angel with black wings.

"Access… you idiot! I told you to stay hidden!" I hissed through my teeth. Access looked up at Jeanne who had her hands on her hips, glaring at us, and shrank back towards me. "Oh no, I forgot! Sorry, sorry!"

Jeanne stared at us for a while, probably trying sort out her thoughts, before speaking. "Are you here to help me, or to spy on me?" Her piercing gaze made me shift uncomfortably but I managed to stare back at her straight.

After a while, I managed to reply. "You must be Kaitou Jeanne. You can call me Sinbad, and this is Access…" I gestured with my thumb. "…My partner. We're here to help."

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Hehe there we go! I know this time I updated very quickly but unfortunately it won't always be this fast. I had already half finished this chapter after I published chapter one, which is why it's up so soon. Anyway, please do review! How about for now, I say… I upload one more chapter for each review I get? I can't promise when I'll get the next one up though, but I won't keep you waiting long. I promise!

A little summary of the next chapter might keep you interested though ;) Jeanne and Sinbad are racing to get the jade... and by the end of the chapter, Jeanne's identity can't possibly be blown… or can it? Dun dun duuun XD


	3. Race for the Green Charm!

**Chapter 3 - Race for the Green Charm!**

S'up! I'm back with another quicky. I've been fiddling with this chapter for a while actually, so I'm glad that it's finally up.

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**Jeanne's POV**

I stared suspiciously at the figure in front of me. "Here to help, are you?

Sinbad smirked then looked at me again. _I swear that smirk is familiar._

"Give me another reason why I'd be here." He said casually.

"Well I don't care whether or not you're here. I'm going to continue doing my job as usual. Don't get in the way."

With that, I took off sprinting down the street, determined to checkmate again. _If he thinks he can just take my job away like that, he's wrong! _I sneaked a peek behind me and saw Sinbad jumping from tree to tree, not far behind me. I picked up my pace until the museum came into view, but suddenly I heard a triumphant yell behind me. Spinning round, my eyes adjusted to the bright light that appeared a few metres in front of me. But the light wasn't pointing at me; it was directed at a tree. A grin broke out on my face when I took in the situation. There, hanging in a net trap from a tree, was Sinbad. A laugh escaped my mouth, but it was too late. Miyako swung the torch around so that it nearly blinded me.

"W-what? J-Jeanne? I-I thought…" She stuttered. Her gaze shifted back to the net and her eyes widened. "Y-you're not Jeanne! Agh! We caught a member of public! Release him!" _Crap. _I immediately turned on my heels and sprinted at top speed down the path again, towards the museum.

**Sinbad's POV**

_Damn. How the hell did I manage to get caught so early! _At that moment, I was surprised when the net was lowered and opened to set me free.

"I am so sorry, we never meant for that to happen! Honestly that trap was to catch a thief who was to show up tonight… Unfortunately it happened to catch you instead!" Miyako rambled on. Suddenly, she squinted at me. "Have I seen you before? No…just my imagination. Sorry again!"

My eyes widened. _This is the first time anyone has even come close to recognising me! _I nodded my head in appreciation and walked backwards a bit, hiding behind a tree until the police had moved on to chasing Jeanne again. I smirked, remembering Miyako's words. _Member of public, huh? Well Miyako, get used to seeing me round a lot more!_

**Normal POV**

Jeanne managed to enter through a window on the second floor of the building, but was surprised not to have found any guards yet. She located the fuse box quickly and a second later, the museum was engulfed in darkness. Jeanne stifled a laugh as she heard voices from the bottom of the stairs, a few metres away from her.

"She's here!"

"Jeanne's arrived"

"Shush, we don't want her- Aahng!"

She smirked as she raced along the corridors of the museum. Already, five of the policemen had had their heads boxed together before even coming into contact with the thief, and were now bound up to a pillar.

Jeanne flew through the corridors towards the gemstone, but her stubborn mind kept bringing back images of Sinbad. _Sinbad. _Jeanne gritted her teeth. _He better not try anything funny with me, that idiot…_

Rounding a corner, she skidded to a halt as she found herself in a large room. And in the middle of that room enclosed in a glass case, was the jade itself. Jeanne picked her way across the room, anticipating a trap to have her captured any second. Her hands were centimetres from touching the glass of the case but suddenly, a loud bang resulted in the room doors being slammed shut and locked. At the same time, guards jumped out with aluminium sheets to board up the windows.

"Give it up Jeanne, there's no way out!" the Chief Inspector announced triumphantly, shining a spotlight in her face.

_Crap. No escape._

Instinctively, she got herself out of the light's beam by leaping onto the chandelier and crouching behind the chains that tied it to the ceiling. Before the spotlight could be re-directed at her, she used the opportunity to swing down with the help of the rebound ball, and kick the security case open so that it shattered. While she was at it, she decided to also take out the spotlight bulb by again, ramming her foot into it. Although her feet hurt from the double impact, she managed to get back up to the chandelier before she was physically grabbed by one of the policemen. The inspector cursed under his breath below her and tried to run across the room again in an attempt to shield the gem, but Jeanne took her opportunity.

"In the name of God… You, a demon, born in darkness, I seal you here…"

Dropping the pin from where she was crouching, it plummeted to the jade just below her.

"Checkmate!"

The demon groaned in agony as it was expelled from the stone, and the police crew could only stand and watch in horror.

"Damn, she took it! Wait, everyone hold your places! Keep Jeanne surrounded!" The Chief yelled out his orders, as his team moved towards the chandelier which Jeanne once again, was crouched on.

"Jeanne if you don't come down this instant, the chains keeping the chandelier attached to the ceiling will be cut!"

Jeanne looked about her helplessly. If she went down as asked, she'd surely be captured and arrested. The window was still heavily guarded, and the door was bolted shut with guards either side. Biting her lip, she struggled to think up a good plan.

But suddenly, a loud crash was heard and the next second, the large doors were lying down on the ground. Widening her eyes, Jeanne realised that they had been kicked down. And sure enough, stood there in the door frame was Sinbad, panting slightly.

All eyes were set firmly on him as he looked around the room for the gem.

Jeanne seized the opportunity to escape and in a swift move, she sailed across the room and landed a centimetre infront of Sinbad, a grin plastered across her face. He jumped back in shock from the sudden action and scowled at her.

Jeanne ruffled his hair and grinned again. "Cheers for that, I'll leave you to clear up. Good luck next time! !" She shouted before running off and escaping through a window

Sinbad was gobsmacked. _Crap… Not only did she beat me to the jade, but now she's leaving me to deal with the police! _He smiled slightly. _This Jeanne, she sure is something…_

**Sinbad's POV**

I decided against paying attention to the police, as the only thing on my mind was tracking down Jeanne and finding out her identity. Before the police could lunge at me, I followed Jeanne's route and escaped through the same window.

She had to be nearby, she was only about ten seconds ahead of me. I scoured the rooftops with my eyes until I saw a familiar silhouette in the distance. _Bingo!_

I raced after her, faster than I'd ever moved before. _Now's the perfect opportunity to tail her; she thinks she's safe from the police so will let her guard down._

How wrong I was. I was barely five rooftops away when she turned around, a hand on her hip.

"I don't know how you ever manage to break into anywhere, given your movements are louder than a herd of elephants."

I stopped in my tracks, my jaw nearly hitting the ground. There was nothing I could do but play along to keep my dignity. I closed the distance between us, landing a metre away from her.

"What do you mean, I'm just going home." I said innocently. A smirk was threatening to take over my face but she noticed.

Narrowing her eyes, she placed a hand on her hip. "Don't try to feed me your lies, I've had enough of them." She turned away slightly. "Now go home and stop following me, jerk."

_Stubborn girl. _Another idea popped into my head at the last minute, and a smirk made its way onto my face. "Okay… well what would you say if you knew I was going to tail you for the night?"

Jeanne stopped again, and turned around slowly. She shot me the iciest of glares, and I swear if glares could kill, I'd be as dead as a rock right now.

"What do you want with me? If by helping me you mean bullseyeing every nerve in my body, then I don't want to know."

I grinned at her mockingly, and moved closer to her again. I don't know why, but every time she spoke to me I… liked it. _No, no, no! What are you saying, idiot? She's meant to be your partner in crime. Nothing else. _

I must have spaced out for a while because I came hurtling back down to earth when she flicked my forehead.

"Ow, what was that for?" I complained, rubbing my head.

"Answer my question and stop spacing out."

I completely forgot about the question. Oops. I flashed yet another at her which seemed to infuriate her to her limits.

"Well… I can't see you inviting me in for a cup of coffee, and I want to know where you live. In case I ever get bored." I winked at her suggestively to annoy her further, but received a flattened nose in return. _Oh dear. Maybe that was too far._

"Perv!" She narrowed her eyes again. "Try following me home or doing anything funny, and I swear I'll make your life so much worse than hell that you'd prefer the real thing!"

With that, she took off again, leaving me speechless. How many times has she left me speechless you ask? I've lost count already. I sighed and shook my head in defeat. This Jeanne, I don't know why, but she's the only one who's ever had that effect on me. I sat down heavily on the rooftop, deep in thought. _Sorry Access, I'll do it another day._

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Et voila! Nahh, it was too soon to have them know each others' identities. I want to play around with it for a bit longer XD The chapters are coming slow I know, I know, but I've been (brace yourselves for the word…) busy. GOMENMASAI! I'm trying my hardest. And please do leave a review. Even a diddly one! I'd like to know what you guys think :) –Ja~


	4. And these two have no idea

Yayayayay, dankedanke my darling reviewers followers favouriters :D mwah mwah mwah 3 In return I give you a big chapter. E-n-j-o-y ~!

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**Chapter 4 – And These Two Have No Idea…**

**Maron's POV**

"Maron! Hey, Maron! Look at me when I speak!" My eyes drifted into focus and I found Miyako glaring down at me in front of my desk, her hands firmly on her hips.

"Jeez, you're ignoring me again. Stop spacing out!"

I rubbed my eyes tiredly as Miyako inspected my face. "Ehh? What is it Miyako?"

"When did you go to bed last night? You look shattered."

I ignored her and looked out of the window. It was true though. I didn't know why, but Sinbad seemed to be occupying a lot of my memory space. That boy kept turning up everywhere suddenly, claiming he was helping me. _Idiot, Finn already warned you about this. _I knew people like him existed, but I just didn't know what to make of it right now.I would have slammed my fists down on to the table in frustration if I hadn't noticed Chiaki watching me curiously out of the corner of my eye. I sighed and returned to fiddling with my pencil instead.

Miyako sighed in exasperation and then something was smacked down onto my desk. "If you're going to ignore me, at least tell me beforehand!" she grumbled before storming off. _Oops, I got sidetracked again. _I studied the piece of paper on my desk; it was a poster about a party. The school dance that took place annually, that everyone in the school contributed something to. I guess you could say it was the only event in the year where the school actually pulled together and got something good out of it in the end.

"M-Maron.. Ehh.. Uhm, I was thi-inking…"

I half turned my head to find Minazuki standing to my right. He was looking down, his hair covering his flushed face.

"Mmhm?" I replied. I still don't know why Minazuki is so shy.

"I-I... Would you li-ike to go to the da-ance with me?" He hastily pointed to the leaflet on my table.

I stifled a laugh. All that trouble to ask me to the dance? We were good friends, anyway.

"Yeah, sure. I'll meet you outside the school." I looked over to see Miyako blushing furiously as she stood in front of Chiaki. "Hey, I think Miyako and Chiaki are going together too. Maybe we could all go in together."

Minazuki mumbled his thanks, bowed slightly and hurried away again. There was just no helping this boy!

**Normal POV**

Pakkyamlamao-sensei had set the whole school to work on setting up the school grounds in preparation for the dance. With the date set for 2 weeks time, the school was scrubbed clean and decorations prepared. The one thing everyone in the school pulled together for, was the banner that would be put on display above the school gates for everyone to see. A long piece of white fabric which everyone would write or draw something on. Nobody quite knew when or how the tradition started, but now it was something everyone looked forwards to contributing to.

As usual, the banner was passed from class to class throughout the week as the students discussed what to decorate it with. Slowly, it filled up with a mark from each of the students of the school, ranging from painted hand prints to scrawled signatures, to messages and drawings.

"Ehh, what's that you've drawn Maron?" An annoying voice rang through Maron's head, causing her to jolt the black marker she was holding tightly.

"Aa..- Idiot! You've made me mess it up." She exclaimed, attempting to fix it.

Chiaki chuckled and leaned over her shoulder to get a better look. "…"

"What do you want? Quit breathing down my neck already."

"Mmh? Is that what you'd like? Because I was just struggling to make out what you were draw-"

Chiaki was cut off mid-sentence by Maron's foot kicking him in his shin, hard.

"Mind your own business!" Then a smirk formed on her lips. "Because that drawing Chiaki, was drawn by Miyako. This one…" She moved her hand that was covering her own drawing. "Was drawn by me."

Her smirk broadened as she watched his eyes widen slightly in realisation. "You're lucky Miyako's not around right now, you know."

Chiaki quickly regained a normal facial expression but frowned at the work. There were a pair of chibi style faces drawn next to each other, unmistakeably belonging to Maron and Miyako. "So you drew your own face next to Miyako's, huh…"

"Yeah… I guess you could say we do that every year." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "Why, got a problem?"

Chiaki was suddenly grinning from ear to ear as he prised the marker pen out of Maron's hand and positioned the banner to face him. "Actually, I do…"

After a few seconds of being hunched over the work, he leaned back proudly.

"There. Everything's perfect now."

Maron didn't even have to come closer to see it. It was drawn big enough so anyone could see it standing five metres away. She had to fight hard to contain her rage as her eyes nearly burned holes in the newest addition to the banner. "Y-You! H-How dare you!" She spluttered, unsure whether her cheeks were now red from anger or embarrassment.

He had just drawn his own face in, next to Maron's. If that wasn't enough, it was positioned so that Chiaki was kissing her on the cheek!

Chiaki chuckled again, tossing the marker back to Maron. "Watch it, you're lucky it's only on the cheek…" Then he sauntered off out of the room.

_I swear, this guy seems to be enjoying digging his own grave…_

**After school, Maron's POV**

I knew I was going to be late for gymnastics that afternoon, but Chiaki had headed down there with Miyako. And yes, I was still pissed off with that guy from earlier, so I ended up stopping off at the toilets instead. _That idiot Chiaki, doing this to me…_

After spending five minutes staring at my reflection in the mirror, I heard a continuous tapping sound at the window. I knew without looking up who it was, as she sometimes sprang up on me like this. Smiling to myself, I unlocked the window to let her in.

"Finn! What's up?" She usually waited for me to arrive home myself, so something interesting must have popped up.

"Maron!" She was panting heavily as she pushed off the window sill to fly up to my face. "The demons have made another appearance." She tried to stabilize her breathing as she calmed down. "The banner! A-A demon's got hold of it!"

I struggled to stay expressionless. "You don't mean the school banner? The dance banner?"

"I'm afraid so."

I let out a long sigh. Sometimes I really didn't understand the devil's reasoning behind trying to destroy beautiful objects like these. Something which everyone had put so much effort in, to just be ruined like that in a second. It was different when it was an expensive gemstone or a priceless antique from a museum, because those only drew crowds. But it was when something so precious to somebody that meant nothing to the rest of the world was targeted – such as this banner, that I really hated the Devil.

I did manage to smile slightly though, as I remembered how Chiaki had ruined it with his own addition. _Yes, his stupid drawing will disappear with the banner too. _

"Send in the notice, Finn. Nine o'clock prompt."

"About that… It looks like someone called Sinbad beat us to it. Trust you to keep him from me, Maron! I had no idea any other person with God given abilities was even around until I saw that devil of an angel – Access Time, flying around outside. I would have tailed him all the way home if we hadn't picked up the scent of the demon at the same time, causing him to notice me!"

Oops. It was true though, with being so busy thinking about him myself, I had completely forgotten to tell Finn about Sinbad.. "Sorry, sorry! I did mean to tell you, but I kind of forgot."

"Hmph! Well God filled me in about it anyway. Serves you right for hiding it from me." Then she turned away and giggled slightly. "You know, you're supposed to work together. Although… I'm not too sure you really comprehend the meaning of a team, yes?"

I snorted. "If that guy really wants to stick around as a kind of back up, then so be it. But like I told you before, I'm not letting anyone – especially ignorant idiots like him, steal my Checkmates."

Finn laughed again. "That's the spirit, Maron! Right, about this notice car-"

"Seal it in an envelope addressed to Pakkyamlamao-sensei. Drop it through the letterbox at her house." I said quickly. I knew Sensei was not going to be at all happy with the banner being the next target, but it had to be done. She had all the banners from years back, all stored in a box. They were precious to her; a sign that even our school could pull together and produce something good at the end of it. I had also seen what lengths Pakkyamlamao-sensei would go to, to protect anything she thought was important. _Hmm, this may prove challenging in a different way…_

**Maron's Apartment, Finn's POV **(I have an unhealthy obsession with Finn, OK? She's a-dor-a-ble! XD )

"Maron. Oi, Maron? Are you listening to me!?" I stared hopelessly at Maron who had just flopped down in front of me onto the sofa, before switching on the television.

"Hey! I was trying to derive a plan for you to get that banner. You're supposed to be the re-incarnation of Jeanne d'Arc you know, yet you're tired after half a day's work!" I had to fly right up to her face and shout in her ear before I got her attention, sometimes.

"Yes, yes… I know Finn. You've drilled it into my head a thousand times over." She mumbled, half turning away from me.

I pouted, but moved so I was still hovering in front of her face. "That's not true! I was busy explaining it to you and you switched off halfway through!"

"Keep the volume down, you're hurting my ears…"

"I don't believe you heard me! Recite it to me so that I know you were paying attention!"

She sighed before closing her eyes. "Look, I know it. We go to the party, you hit the lights, I break away from Minazuki, I seal the demon. I return to Minazuki and Chiaki before the power returns. Much the same as usual."

I smiled, knowing that however much she denied it, she _did_ take her job seriously. Well at least half seriously. I flew forwards to hug Maron's cheek. "Yay! Now that you're all set to go, I'm expecting a chess piece at the end of it, OK? Hey, Maron! Listen to me!"

I smacked my forehead in exasperation as she snored on the sofa. Jeanne d'Arc or not, this girl will always have her own ways…

**The night of the dance – Normal POV**

"Don't be so silly Maron, you look much better like this!" Miyako exclaimed, admiring her masterpiece. It was true though, Miyako had done a marvellous job on getting Maron prettied up for the dance. Miyako had had enough trouble dragging her friend to the shops to find a half formal dress, that it was surprising she was able to sort her hair and face out too.

"Pfft, don't get the wrong idea and think I'm enjoying this. In fact, I know you only want me to look like this so you have an excuse to look your best for Chia-"

"Ssshhh!" Miyako's hand slammed down on Maron's mouth, muffling the end of her sentence. "S-Shut up! E-Everyone's going to look good for the dance, idiot. A-Anyway, it would be stupid not to go dressed up!"

Maron smirked slightly. "Yes yes, if you say so…"

Miyako's cheeks remained red with embarrassment as she stomped out of Maron's apartment. "It's your own fault that you don't appreciate it you know. You need to learn to be more ladylike at times like this!" She yelled over her shoulder.

Maron looked down at what she was wearing. _Great. How do I spend the next hour before the dance all dressed up like this? _She flopped down on the sofa in annoyance and waited for Finn to come back. Although Miyako was determined to catch Jeanne this time, the opportunity to spend the evening with Chiaki was too big to pass up. She had decided that she would only spend half the time at the dance, before rushing out to sort out Jeanne's traps. Maron's lips curved into a smile; she knew how important this dance was to Miyako with Chiaki being her partner. But she couldn't help but feel happy and perhaps slightly relieved, that she was still willing to give up some of it up in order to catch Jeanne. Miyako's driving determination was definitely one of the main things that fuelled Maron's eagerness to continue helping God and Finn.

Maron's eyes were just closing and she was about to drift off into a peaceful slumber, when she was jolted back to reality by the sound of fists on her front door that thundered around the apartment. Unsurprisingly, she found Miyako stood at the front door, gripping Chiaki's wrists. He was rubbing his eyes tiredly, nearly falling asleep as well.

"Look, I've already had to drag him out of bed! Don't tell me I need to carry you to the dance too." Miyako snapped, gripping Chiaki's wrists tighter to keep him looking conscious.

"Yeah, I'm just comi-"

"Now! We're going to be late!"

"No wait, my-"

Maron's protests were cut off as Miyako yanked her out of the front door and slammed it behind her.

"My keys…"

The three hurried to the school, which had already started.

"Tch! Told you we should have set off earlier." Miyako grumbled, scanning the crowd. "Did you say you'd meet Minazuki here?"

_Oh no, Minazuki!_ Maron had completely forgotten about his asking her to the dance. "Yeah…We agreed to meet at the main entrance."

After scanning the crowds, Miyako's eyes settled on a figure waiting nervously at the gates, checking his watch – Unmistakeably Minazuki. With a playful shove, she pushed Maron towards him but it only resulted in Maron toppling over in her long dress, smacking into Chiaki, and the pair of them landing with a loud thud on the ground.

Miyako mentally cursed them both. "Y-You idiots! Chiaki, are you OK? And Maron, your dress is all muddy now! Ugh, we haven't even started the dance and you're-"

All remaining air in her lungs was lost as she took in their position. Maron was on all fours, leaning over Chiaki who was lying on the ground. Miyako's eyes widened like saucers as she jabbed a finger in their direction. "O-Oi! W-What are you d-doing?" She grabbed Maron's arm and dragged her off Chiaki's chest. Maron's face was flushed red, and Miyako had to shake her shoulders violently to get her attention. "Hey, Maron! Are you listening to me?"

Chiaki only chuckled as he pushed himself up onto his elbows. Upon inspection, Miyako noticed a faint blush dusting his cheeks too, before it vanished again. "Awh, I was enjoying that position as well… I wonder what it looked like to everyone els-" He choked on his last words as Maron who had now recovered, seized him by his tie, hauling him to his feet. "H-How dare you! S-Stop being so perverted!" Realising their proximity, she blushed slightly, before abruptly dropping him. Smoothing out her dress, she turned on her heels and marched towards Minazuki, earning a snicker from Chiaki.

**Chiaki's POV**

I wasn't sure why or even how, but Maron certainly did remind me of someone. I wasn't even sure who she resembled. Perhaps a figment of my imagination. But then, maybe it was the way she had a tough exterior that everyone knew, but then…there was bound to be a vulnerable side of her too, right? I smiled slightly. _Well if Maron had a vulnerable side, she doesn't show it very often… _I tentatively rubbed the marks on my neck my collar had made, when she had nearly strangled me earlier. It then occurred to me that I knew very little about Maron. Whereas Miyako had pretty much told me her life story, all I really knew about Maron were her personal details and her interest in gymnastics. Not a lot else. _How could that be?_ She sat next to me at school, we were neighbours, and it wasn't like she had blanked me all this time. I made a mental note to myself to find out more about her the next opportunity I had.

Hmm, recently my mind has been quite filled up with Maron and Jeanne. How annoying. _Ah, Jeanne! _I momentarily forgot my actual reason of being here. I smirked as I looked at the banner which Pakkyamlamao-sensei was guarding herself, despite it being two hours early for the theft to happen. I would have laughed out loud at the drawing I contributed again, if Miyako wasn't watching me curiously.

Access was not amused with my previous failures against Jeanne. He spent the whole of last night formulating a plan that would allow me to sneak away from Maron and Minazuki – Miyako was obviously leaving early for Jeanne. I did have my doubts about the plan though; I mean anyone would be likely to catch on if I disappeared right before the robbery. Right now, I'm just hoping Jeanne will make an appearance first to cause a distraction.

The party progressed fairly normally, and although I was able to mask my slight nervousness about the theft, Miyako was practically beside herself with capturing Jeanne. Maron appeared to have cleared off fairly early, Minazuki tagging along. I guess she knows better than to stick around Miyako when she's in moods like this.

**Maron's POV**

_8:45. Fifteen minutes to go. _I had to wait for Finn to take out the lights before I could do anything. Sighing, I made my way to the food stand, with where Miyako and Chiaki were. Miyako was clutching onto Chiaki's arm, but I could hear that their conversation was about Jeanne's capture. I managed to stifle a laugh.

"Hey Miyako, Chiaki!" I grinned at them as they looked up. "Eh, Miyako, you're still here? Jeanne will get away again if you don't hurry up!"

The reminder that it was time to go was enough to get Miyako's eyes blazing with fire. "Yes! Just you wait, Jeanne. I'll have you brought to justice tonight!" Her fists clenched tightly, she marched out of the room to finish her preparations.

There was a strange expression on Chiaki's face that I couldn't quite place… But it quickly disappeared as he returned to eating an iced bun. He was a strange guy, there was no doubt about it. I picked up a bun too, and we ate in silence for a while.

Suddenly, the school was plunged into darkness as the lights were taken out. _Time to go…_

I whipped around to make a dash out of the room, only to crash into Chiaki for the second time that day. I glared at him. "Where are you rushing off to so suddenly, that hurt!" I complained, rubbing my elbow. Man, everywhere I turned this guy was there.

"Hey, I could say the same about you." He winced slightly as he staggered to his feet.

"Look, I'm going to the toilets. Catch you in a bit." I managed to get out as I hurried out of the hall.

Grimacing, I looked around. I'd forgotten how many people there would be. Even outside, it was near to full. There was no point attempting to transform anywhere relatively near to here. Everyone would see me from the light produced. _Sigh… _The toilets it was.

I found the busiest toilets there was, right in the centre of the school. After picking my way through whimpering girls sitting on the floor, obviously too scared to move from the sudden darkness, I managed to dive into a cubicle and bolt it shut. I considered transforming immediately, but scared as the girls might be, they weren't stupid. I gingerly slid over the tops of the cubicle walls until I was almost the other side of the toilets, where I felt safe enough to summon Finn. Honestly, without the help of the Petit Claire, I have no idea where I'd be in this job!

A couple of seconds later, Finn arrived.

"Come on, we'll be late if we don't get going now."

Finn nodded eagerly. "Good luck, Maron. Do your best – With or without Sinbad" She whispered as the transformation process began. I grinned as I felt the power surging through my veins, at how much better it was be out of that stupid formal dress Miyako had forced me to wear.

I had to squint at my watch to see the time, through the darkness. _9:00. Game Start! _I felt the adrenalin build up inside me as I silently let myself out of the cubicle and slipped out of the window, unseen. How everyone missed seeing part of my transformation was a miracle, but I wasn't going to complain.

Stood on the window ledge outside, it wasn't hard to see the police officers stationed at each path down to the banner. Four by the gates, two holding the banner in place; yes, Pakkyamlamao-Sensei had refused to even consider taking the thing down. She said she'd rather it was kept in place than have it removed for the dance. Not that it made much difference to me, considering I'd end up taking it either way.

Murmuring voices below me coming from some voices jolted me out of my thoughts.

"Jeez, are you trying to get people suspicious? Come on, Jeanne's arrived already."

_Jeanne? _That must mean Sinbad was down there, with his angel. Access, was it? Well; whether they were here or not, the banner was mine.

Grasping the gutter, I pulled myself up onto the roof. From here, I could see another one, two…four…_five_ guards situated below me. Hmm, Miyako sure was going to lengths to protect that banner today. I was about to take off running across the rooftop when I heard the sound of shoes landing softly behind me. So softly I had to strain my ears to hear it. I whizzed around, prepared to meet a guard but found myself face to face with Sinbad.

He smirked. "You're predictable, Jeanne. I'm surprised the police don't place guards up on the rooftops since that's where you always come from."

_Predictable? _This guy who I'd beaten in the last round had the audacity to call me _predictable_? I glared at him through the dark. I could make out his outline but not a lot else.

"Well, someone was eager to get here. I see you beat me to the notices."

He snorted, probably trying not to laugh. "Hmm? You want to turn the notices into a competition now, do you? That'll prove who has the best angel…Reckon it would be Finn or Access?"

I opened my mouth to answer but to my horror, I couldn't move. Looking down, I found rope tightening around my body in all areas. My mind blanked for a moment before realising I'd been caught by a net. I managed to twist my body to find three triumphant guards closing in on me rapidly. Struggling in the net only seemed to cause the ropes to dig into my skin, rubbing my skin raw. So I lay still, desperately trying to think of a plan good enough to free me. This was definitely a new kind of net, something –

"Miyako Special – Part Thirteen! Yes, you're right Jeanne. That is no ordinary net. It does not allow any escapees; including you! You'll be honoured to hear it was designed especially- Eehh?!"

I too was taken by surprise. Strong arms wrapped around me, and a second later we were flying through the air to the next rooftop. The net lay in pieces on the ground.

"S-Sinbad! W-What the hell? I could have got out myself, you know."

He smirked at me, landing me on my feet. "Awh, not even a thank you? But then no one claimed you were nice, either…"

"Idiot! Now everyone's going to think we're working together."

He raised his eyebrows at me, the smirk still present. "Are we not? I wouldn't call us enemies." He turned away slightly before continuing. "Because if I'm honest, I think we'd make a good team."

I almost growled at him but moved away instead. I'd never worked in a team before. The idea almost didn't make sense to me. _Team? Work together? Allies? _I could cope with being allies; that was a friendly term. It didn't suggest anything long term. But I definitely wasn't prepared to see him as someone that I could rely on fully; I'd had enough with being let down in the past. "Don't make stupid assumptions." I retorted, brushing past him and walking on ahead. "I'm going after that banner. Come or don't, your choice."

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Well that's it for now, guys! Do you like it? Maron+Chiaki's relationship is progressing painfully slowly (in fact it's barely existent right now) but I do have my plans, don't worry ^.^

I decided to split this chapter into 2 separate ones, otherwise it would have been too big _

By the way, if there's any particular scene from the anime/manga that you'd like me to use as a basis for part of the story, do let me know :)


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